Offensively it turned out to be a struggle for Miami for much of Friday's 77th annual Hyundai Sun Bowl matchup with Notre Dame.

But if there was a highlight, it was the play of freshman quarterback Stephen Morris.

The 6-foot-2, 183-pound Morris completed 22-of-33 passes for 282 yards and two scores in the 33-17 loss. He threw fourth-quarter touchdown passes of six yards to Leonard Hankerson and 42 yards to Tommy Streeter.

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"Stephen was able to give us a lift and made some plays," Miami interim head coach Jeff Stoutland said.

Morris and the game's starter, junior Jacory Harris, had been sharing the repetitions in practice leading up to the game.

But Morris, who started four games this season, injured his left ankle in practice earlier in the week and Harris was officially named the starter Thursday by Stoutland.

Heading into the game, interceptions had been a menace to the progression of the Hurricanes' offense. With Friday's four interceptions thrown, Miami quarterbacks threw 27 interceptions on the year.

"We really worked on that part of our game in preparation leading up to the bowl," Stoutland said.

Hankerson ended his career on a high note. In addition to his touchdown catch, he finished the game with 71 yards receiving, which gave him 1,156 for the year. His season total is the top mark in school history.

"It's been great career at Miami," he said. "It would have been great to end with a bowl win."